It depends on where and how you live, your climate, your guests.

I have a coat closet by my front foyer which I expect to be used. I knew no one would use a coat closet by my garage entry which will be the main family entry, (because it wasn't used in my last house).

so this house my design includes a large double locker with double doors and three rows of hooks. (No separate cubbies..my last two kids are teens). Two drawers underneath with a triple drawer stack next to it.

the garage area closet in my last house ended up being a junk collector and catch all.

if you have a large mudroom you may not need a separate coat closet. My mudroom is a laundry/mudroom combo and I think it will be plenty even when family visits.

can you post your area?

I would think even if your guests don’t use it you will. Closets are good! I’d rather have it than not. We will have a mud room and closet in hallway.

In my new build (2 yrs ago) I have a coat closet by the front door. It is used to store our own coats. I have a coat tree by the front door as well as a decon's bench in the foyer a few feet from the coat tree. We are very casual so my guests use the coat tree or toss their coat on the deacon's bench. But, I like the closet for our own coats.

Nope, not for us in a cold climate in a Colorado ski resort town. In fact we rarely see them in high end 3,000,000 -5,000,000 homes. Instead coat racks with benches below, are the norm. Frankly, I have seen too many coat closets over the years crammed with other stuff and/or coats that haven't been worn in years -- out of sight out of mind. In our relatively high end home, we have a nook with a custom bench (or at least we will have a bench when the furniture maker delivers it) in our entry hall, plus a very cool hall tree coat rack made of antique wooden skis. We also have multiple hooks in the garage for family utility coats.

"Multmultiple hooks in the garage for family utility coats." good thought

But who cares if it ends up with something other than coats? It’s still storage

The more storage, the better

Storage is only necessary if you don't live a minimalist lifestyle. Our current home (built around the turn of the 20th century) has only three closets. None of them are full. We don't have a coat closet - just hooks behind the front door for guests, and a boot tray that's placed there in the winter/spring/rainy days.

I grew up in a house with a coat closet that was only used for junk. If you don't need one, don't build one.

There are better areas for storage elsewhere than a closet in the front hall that tends to be out of sight out of mind. What's the point of a coat closet near a public entrance if you don't have room for guest coats?

Hooks are so much easier than coat hangers, especially in a casual area. The only coat I have that I am reluctant to hang on hooks is my long black cashmere that, fortunately, I rarely wear -- it's primarily a funeral coat these days.

What's your climate? If you live in Arizona you can justify no coat closet. Otherwise... a place for winter or rain gear you probably don't want to be without.

We now live in a snowy climate, but we aren't going to have a coat closet by the front door. We will have hooks and a bench for guests. Because I don't have a closet, I can have another window.

In my last house the coat closet by the front door was never used by guests and just collected junk. I think it just depends on if you will use it or not and if you would like the extra storage.

thank you all for the feedback. I agree storage is good...but we are more minimalist thinking. I am planning this home while thinking of a place for everything. this was when I began questioning it's use. instead we can make the neighboring powder room larger...or the storage space in my office larger. so many things to consider when build in it's overwhelming

No coat closet for guests here. No one around here has one that I've ever used. Most people put their coats in the owner's bedroom. When you have large family gatherings of 20+ people, most coat closets aren't large enough to handle that many coats at one time.

If it's your long-term/forever home, build what suits you. Minimalist may suggest you nix it and expand another space.

Resale may suggest that you leave it, because the next owners may desire to use that space for coats, ski poles, etc. Storage is immensely useful. Eg, my friend in Toronto is minimalist - she'll buy a can of WD40, use it once, then throw it out, rather than store it. I'm the opposite - I'll find a place to store it until I'm done with it, cause it's less wasteful.

Personally, I hate clothes-on-the-bed during parties. Looking for one black coat that looks like 5 others, people snooping in closets/drawers because they have a reason to be in that room, people's dog hair (that hubby is allergic to) on the bed, the smell of cigarettes from the smokers' coat....just EWWWWW!

I'm also not a minimalist, because I'm a crafter and a hobbyist. ;) My house is stuffed with things that turn into creations - pottery, photography, outdoor sports, floral arranging, etc :)

Yes, I agree that it depends upon your climate. Here in the South, people don't wear coats often -- and they tend not to bring them into other people's houses.

Ask yourself ALL of these questions:

- Do I need a coat closet (or hooks, or a bench) in my foyer for guests?

- Do I need a coat closet (or hooks) in my family entrance for family coats in cold weather?

- Do I need a coat closet for storage of family coats in off-season? (You don't want your coats hanging on hooks all summer /getting out of shape.) If so, where should it be located?

- How big a coat closet do I need? Is it for a retired couple or a family? Do we need to store just raincoats and jackets, or do we also need space for heavy winter coats?

In my current home, I have a coat closet in the foyer, that mostly houses our own coats, and random junk. I noticed guests rarely used it, and my kids would throw coats on the floor, until I hung them up. (They were too small to reach the hangers at the time.) In a fit of frustration, on the opposite wall, I placed a bench with storage underneath, that I got at a thrift shop. Then I took an old 1x10, about 6’ long, out of our barn, and screwed hooks along it. I mounted it over the bench, and everyone, including the kids, use it with no problem! I literally have less than $100, and an afternoon, in the whole project. Just the door on the closet across from it cost more than that. In our new home, I’m planning to have a family “drop zone” with hooks, benches, etc., as we come in from the garage. The guest “drop zone” will be in the foyer, using a tasteful bench and hooks. There’s room to add a closet or freestanding armoire on the opposite side, should I discover down the road that I miss it, or need storage in that location. I don’t want to add it “just because,” then have it filled with random stuff, that could be more purposefully stored elsewhere.

We have a coat closet near our foyer, but it's not used for guest's coats. We use it for off-season coats and it's where we store our vacuum cleaner. Our coat closet is also our under the stair storage, so it goes way back. I use the way back storage for suitcases. For guest coats, I'm thinking of putting a coat rack in our foyer. We live in Dallas, so not a huge need for coats year round, but we can have some chilly winter days so we need a place to store them.

Yes, consider off-season coat storage. If you have large closets in the bedrooms, it won't be a problem. If, like me, bedroom storage is limited, the coat closet is essential. It also houses the vacuum cleaner and attachments, and dog stuff (leash, poop bags, sweaters, etc). Plus the door knob holds the rag used to clean up the dog before he tracks mud and twigs throughout the house!

I would never buy a house without a coat closet near the foyer

I have never used a coat closet as a guest. Nor had guests use mine. But I am in Florida. I wouldn't have one unless you thought you needed it

we forfeited the back 6 to 8 inches of our coat closet (we live in south texas) for a large can closet in the kitchen the closet is fitted with a double row of hooks and i apparently needed it because the only thing in it is a bunch of my jackets and an umbrella

"I have never used a coat closet as a guest. Nor had guests use mine." Ditto, except I live in the NW. You'd think ppl would use it, but it doesn't end up happening.

We are in a snowy climate and no closet for coats for guests in the foyer. We have hooks for them. There is a closet in back for all our stuff though.

Our coat closet is in the mudroom. Just about everyone comes through the garage, so for us it would have been a waste near the front door.

This thread is so interesting. Our last house didn’t have a coat closet and it drove me crazy. I hated guests putting stuff on the coat rack. I like everything away and out of sight. Current house has a closet but people always put stuff on the coat rack! Lol you can’t win. That said in new house there will be no rack and that will be that. Closet only. And just for guests as we will have a mud room for our chaos.

Never used someone else's coat closet, no one ever used ours.

Parties (in winter) mean coats on dining table since the parties weren't dinner parties. We also didn't have a coat closet off the foyer. We have one in the mudroom - which I almost never use. If it is cold - then I put a coat on a hook (in a mudroom cubby). When it warms up - it goes away in the closet - so I do use it but not for day to day.

New house has closet off foyer and one in mudroom. May have to take one or both out.....

Well, this whole thread has made me re-think my foyer closet. I anticipate that it will be a mess and full of "junk" just like my last house. And never used for it's intended purpose....

i may just make that impossible by putting rows of hooks up instead of traditional shelves and spaces for hangers. It sounds as if that has worked out for some of you.

Then there will be no place for that junk to accumulate.

Like many of you..when I have a big group over in coat weather...the coats go on the bed in the master bedroom..not in the coat closet. Along with the purses, diaper bags, etc.

yes, great thread OP. Glad you started it.

In snowy rainy places, jamming wet coats into a closet is a bad idea. they all end up damp.

A place for incoming wet, muddy or snowy coats and boots is necessary, unless you have staff to whisk them away. But the trend seems to be going back to the old style "hall stand" with hooks, a tray for boots and a place for umbrellas to drip.

good point..and I'm in rainy WA state, so even more reason to cut my coat closet

Alison, I'm in the same boat as you.

We just sold our 105 year old house that of course had no coat closet, no mud room, no storage, etc. Having a home for everything and fixing each of our clutter or mess problems in the old house became one of my biggest goals for the new house.

So we have a large mud room with builtins (or will soon), including many hooks. But I see this as a) just for our family and b) only for coats that we are using right now. We have a good sized double-door coat closet near the foyer that in my head is half for off-season costs and half for guest coats.

The thought of having this beautiful new super-panned house and welcoming guests who hang their coats on hooks in the middle of foyer, or worse throw their costs over furniture, just destroys all of my clean, neat, and organized visions I have in my head :-) (I would hate to recreate the messy overflowing coat racks look from our old house when you first walk in)

But obviously different people have different ideas about this!

I'll argue against hooks being the be-all-solution to clutter - I know more than a few friends whose coat racks have 4 coats all preciously stuck to each hook!

Shouldn't a properly sized closet have enough breathing space to allow things to dry (instead of just stick together)? You could easily add airflow to that space if really concerned.

I'd hate it if someone put a wet/damp coat on my furniture/dining table - you'd ruin it!

I'm pretty formal with guests though - greet them, take their coats, and hang them up in a closet.

I hate putting my coat on a HOOK. I would like a hanger for my coat or jacket please.